


Say Goodbye to Your Past

by DinerGuy



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Ohana, Whump, protective friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24287785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinerGuy/pseuds/DinerGuy
Summary: It had been a clever ploy to get Iho to tell them if he knew who'd taken his money; that was all. But now Magnum is in the hospital, Higgins is missing, and the clock is ticking.Tag fic for 02.15 "Say Hello to Your Past"
Comments: 54
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this one for a while... I had the idea in the middle of the episode, but life has been weird and my muse has been playing dirty and it took me this long to actually finish it.
> 
> Thanks to truthtakestime and frankie_mcstein for all their help!
> 
> Standard disclaimers apply, including the one where I'm not a medical professional.

The music from La Mariana spilled out into the night air as Magnum pushed the door open and headed toward the parking lot. It had been a long day, but the danger and worry were finally over. Kumu was safe and the mystery of who had murdered Milo Rivers' wife had been solved.

The part Magnum regretted was that they'd been too late in solving the case to save Milo's life. And, yes, it was true the man had only been injured when he'd escaped police custody, but it was possible he'd have gone to jail for the crime if he hadn't—meaning the real killer would have gotten away. It was a tragic ending to a tragic case, and Magnum was only too happy to put it behind him and move on to the next, _paying_ client.

He crossed the short distance from the sidewalk to where he'd parked the Ferrari. Higgins had refused to let him drive the Supra any longer—she'd actually confiscated the keys after he'd finished trying to back out of the miles he'd put on Robin's newest toy—and, although he did still love driving the trusty Ferrari, the new sports car had been a thrill to handle.

There was a storm blowing in, and clouds were starting to roll across the sky, obscuring the moonlight that might otherwise have illuminated the lot. As Magnum approached his car, a shadow that seemed out of place caught his eye. But, before he had a chance to process what he was seeing, he heard the crunch of footsteps behind him.

Magnum started to turn, only to feel something hard and unforgiving slam into his upper back. He fell forward, his arms refusing to catch his weight as fiery pain radiated across his shoulders and down his spine. He heard his startled exclamation as he hit the ground, but he knew he had to get back up. If he stayed down, he didn't stand a chance fighting off his attacker.

Scrambling to get his feet back under him, Magnum made it to his knees before the hard object from before hit him in the side.

He didn't have to guess what the explosion of pain was as he collapsed back onto the hard asphalt of the parking lot. He curled in on himself, his body reflexively trying to relieve the pressure on his injured side.

There was no time to catch his breath. He needed to get up before whoever had jumped him had a chance to do anything else, but his body was slow to cooperate. He gulped a short breath of air, then forced himself to pull his arms back under him and push to his knees. He had to get up and face these guys head-on.

His attempt to stand was stopped by pressure on his back, holding him down, and he realized someone had planted a foot just below his shoulder blades. But that was okay; he could work with that.

Taking a quick breath and wincing at how it made his side pulse, he threw all of his weight up and to the left as he rolled over.

It wasn't as much as he'd hoped, but it did throw the guy off-balance, and Magnum took full advantage. As soon as the weight was mostly off his back, he drew his knees under him in one quick motion, stuffing the pain away until later when he would have time to deal with it.

He managed to get to his feet but hardly had time to blink before the other man was coming at him again.

Magnum quickly sized up his opponent. The guy was tall, taller than Magnum by at least a head, and stocky to boot. And it wasn't that Magnum was necessarily worried about being able to take on the other man—he'd fought much bigger guys before and won; it was all in how you approached the fight—but he was concerned with the fact that the person lurking near his car had yet to show himself.

If he had to guess, based on the fact that whoever it was hadn't shouted an alarm or gone running at the first sign of violence, the second man was in on… whatever this was. Magnum wasn't sure exactly what these guys were after, but he was pretty certain it wasn't a run-of-the-mill mugging.

All of this he'd processed in a flash, and now he ducked as his opponent swung a meaty fist toward his face. As soon as the momentum carried the other man's arm past where Magnum's head had been, Magnum sprang forward and threw his own punch that landed in the low center of the man's chest. The blow accomplished exactly what Magnum had wanted, and he wasted no time in taking advantage of it to deliver a strike to the man's jaw.

But then there was a quick sound behind him, and he found himself tackled and driven to the ground before he could turn toward the Ferrari.

His head slammed into the pavement, and he vaguely felt his exposed skin rub across the harsh surface of the lot as he skidded a short distance. Everything around him went fuzzy for a moment, and so he didn't have any time to see the kick coming—but he certainly felt it as soon as it landed on his side.

The next one flipped him over onto his back, then another hit his side again. This time, Magnum heard as well as felt the impact as something seemed to give with a sickening _crack._ Lightning flashed through his vision and he nearly choked on the wave of pain and nausea that swept over him. But he didn't have time to dwell on it at the moment; once the current situation was dealt with, he could worry about everything else.

He shook his head to clear it just in time to see a shadow rushing toward him, and he finally managed to get his arms up into a protective position over his head not a moment too soon. The man's foot caught his forearm rather than his face, and Magnum gritted his teeth at the way the impact of the blow seemed to radiate up his arm and into his already throbbing shoulder.

Magnum clenched his jaw and tried to clamber to his feet again, only for the bigger of the two goons to throw a punch that landed just under his right eye and sent him reeling back to the harsh ground. Stars exploded in his vision and everything went dark for a brief second.

"You thought you could double-cross Iho?" the man growled then, and Magnum blinked in surprise.

"What…?" he panted, squinting up at the shadowy figures towering over him. He couldn't quite make out any details, just the general shapes, and he shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear it.

The one who had spoken leaned down then, grabbing a handful of the front of Magnum's red-printed shirt and pressing on his chest hard enough to draw a pained cough from the downed P.I. "This is just a warning. If you don't return Iho's money, you'll get much worse. You and that little partner of yours."

Magnum did his best to return the guy's steely glare. Everything was still a little hazy, and he wasn't sure he'd actually be able to get up if he tried—under different circumstances, it would have been as easy as just grabbing the man's hand and using his weight against him, but, with the way the face above Magnum's was weaving in and out of focus, it was a pretty sure bet that move wouldn't be successful right then.

He licked his lips, tasting copper, and glanced between the others. "No… wait, you don't understand." Another hoarse cough interrupted him as the guy pressing on his chest didn't let up. "We had a lead, like we told Iho, but it didn't pan out. Not quick enough, anyway. The cops got to it first, something to do with the guys who took it getting arrested."

"Nice try," the goon still standing snarled, crossing his arms. There was something in his hand, but Magnum couldn't quite make out what it was. "You think we're stupid?"

Shaking his head slightly, Magnum glanced from one man to the other. "I'm telling you," he insisted. "We followed the lead we told Iho about, but it didn't pan out in time. The police got the guys who took the money, and now HPD—" He broke off as the guy holding him down backhanded him across the face.

Magnum's vision went spotty again. He felt the need to vomit, and he swallowed hard as he fought to stay conscious.

"I don't think he's listening," came the man's voice from above him.

He really was listening, if they'd taken the time to notice, but it seemed the goons were the ones not listening.

From nearby, he could hear the shuffle of footsteps as, presumably, the taller of the two moved closer. Magnum took another deep breath, again wincing at the way it exacerbated his injured side but knowing he needed to be ready to do something if he could. The men didn't seem very convinced by the explanation of what had happened to Iho's drug money, even if it was the truth.

The breath he'd taken a moment before had been shallow and shaky, even he had noticed that, and that had him worried. As hard as he was fighting to stay conscious, it was quickly becoming a losing battle, and he needed an escape route, not to pass out while he was still in these guys' grip—literally.

"Now, we're gonna ask you again," one of the men started, and Magnum struggled to focus his gaze on the one standing above him.

And then, in the next second, a shout rang across the parking lot, interrupting whatever the goon was about to say next.

Magnum almost wanted to laugh. It was about time someone noticed what was going on. It was late, but it wasn't _that_ late, and there were still a few cars in the lot.

"Rick! T.C.!"

He blinked. He knew that voice, that accent. This wasn't just some random bar patron. Higgins had said she was going to stay a while longer than he was; apparently, she'd finally decided to head home. And just in time too, Magnum thought in relief; between Higgy, Rick, and T.C., these goons didn't stand a chance.

Footsteps pounded closer, and the man holding Magnum released him. There was a shout just before the sound of scuffling reached Magnum's ears.

He tried to focus on what was going on above him, but the haze that had been toying at the edges of his vision was starting to take over fully now. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, he could feel his lids drooping and his world growing dark.

The pressure on his chest had disappeared when the man holding him released his shirt, but it took a few long moments for Magnum to realize he should get up and help. He hadn't heard Rick or T.C. join them yet, which meant he needed to pitch in; two against one wasn't a fair fight.

He threw his weight to the side, trying to roll over in order to force himself to his feet. It felt like he was moving in slow motion but exerting ten times the effort, and, if he was exhausted before, his energy was absolutely depleted by the time he managed to get on his side.

Past the ringing that was growing in his ears, he could vaguely hear the sounds of the fight intensifying above him, and then more voices were yelling from farther away.

In the next moment, he thought he heard the sound of a car door slamming, thought he heard a muffled yell, and then the high-pitched sound of squealing tires.

"Higgins!" someone yelled, and Magnum blinked. It sounded so far away, but he was almost certain it belonged to T.C., but he couldn't remember when the other man had gotten there…

"Hey, Thomas, can you hear me?"

There was a hand patting his cheek. Wait, that was… Rick? What…?

"Thomas? Hey, what happened?"

As much as Magnum wanted to answer the question, talking was just too much effort. So was focusing, for that matter.

"Come on, T.M. Stay with me, buddy. Don't you…"

"Is he okay?"

"Come on, buddy, open your eyes…"

The voices swirled above him as if floating in midair, not really attached to anything or anyone.

Magnum wanted to ignore them and just give in to the very tempting urge to fall asleep right where he was. It was definitely easier than the effort he knew he'd have to exert to do what Rick wanted him to.

"Did you get the plate?"

He heard Rick's question and wanted to ask what his friend could possibly mean. The plate from the guys who'd jumped him? Magnum didn't remember seeing them near a car. How was he supposed to know which one to then remember its license plate number?

"No."

Wait, that was T.C. He was saying something else, but Magnum wasn't listening. He was too busy trying to figure out what was going on—

A hand tapping his cheek—much harder than a few moments before—interrupted his slow-moving thoughts.

"Hey! You can't fade on me," Rick said sternly, although Magnum was fairly certain he detected worry there too. "Open your eyes now, Thomas."

He still didn't want to, but another 'encouraging' tap from Rick was all he needed to realize this wasn't all going away just because he wanted to take a long nap. It was probably better to make Rick happy now, and then Magnum could get himself home and not crawl out of bed for a solid three days—at least.

"Tommy!"

The slightly louder exclamation was enough to finally force his eyes open. Everything was hazy, and several blinking attempts to clear his vision only helped a little.

"Hey, there you are," Rick's blurry form came into focus above him. "I'd ask how you're feeling, but I think I know the answer."

Magnum made a face in response, but, judging by Rick's reactionary smirk, it had strayed far out of 'intimidating' territory and well into 'pitiful.'

"Ah!" he protested as he felt hands on his side. The pain that had been steadily throbbing through him came alive again with breathtaking intensity. Magnum hissed at the pressure being applied as Rick prodded at his side, no doubt checking to see exactly what was broken.

"Leave… 'lone," he managed to croak in protest.

A hand gently patted his shoulder. "Sorry, bud. Just making sure you're not dying on me or anything."

"What happened?" T.C. asked, and Magnum blinked as he shifted his gaze in the direction of the second voice. T.C. was standing just to the right of Rick, arms crossed as he watched his friends in concern.

"I… uh…" Magnum coughed hoarsely and then winced at just how much that hurt. "Iho… drug dealer," he clarified. "His goons think… think we have his money."

"Why does a drug dealer think you have his money?" Rick asked. "Do you?" he added.

Magnum frowned. "No… He's… the one Milo stole from."

"The guy who kidnapped Kumu? The one whose money is the whole reason three people died already?" T.C. sounded confused and angry all at the same time.

Magnum nodded—or, attempted to nod. But the quick motion sent pain spiking through his skull. He had to close his eyes against the wave of nausea that hit as light seemed to explode in his field of vision. He coughed again as something tickled at his throat, and then the roiling in his gut was taking over everything. He barely had time to think about how badly it was going to suck before he was retching.

Hands rolled him onto his side and stayed on him, holding him steady. Magnum could feel someone grasping his left shoulder and resting against his lower back.

The discomfort of vomiting up every bar snack and beer he'd just had in La Mariana, the acidic burning harsh in his throat as bile forced its way up and out, was quickly overshadowed by the absolute agony of doing so with broken ribs.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Magnum's vision went gray and spotty, and he barely registered when the heaving ended and the hands on him gently lowered his aching body to lie back down on the pavement.

He vaguely noticed there was now something under his head, something soft, but he couldn't focus long enough to really care. He was getting dangerously close to giving in to the darkness edging at his consciousness, but he knew he couldn't afford to. Not now. Iho's guys coming after him like they had meant they'd tracked him down, probably followed him or learned he and Higgins took client meetings at—

Higgins.

He felt a flash of guilt as it occurred to him that he hadn't realized she wasn't there with Rick and T.C. Which… made no sense. He knew he'd heard her a few moments before—at least, he thought it was a few moments, but time was all a little fuzzy to him currently—and he wasn't sure where she would be now. Clearly, she wasn't injured too, otherwise T.C. or Rick would've said something. Or, at least, they wouldn't _both_ be by Magnum's side just then.

"Hig—" he tried, only to be cut off by another hoarse cough that reached down past his chest and briefly made him panic he might puke again.

"Shh," Rick put a firm but gentle hand on his chest. "Just lie still. The paramedics are on their way."

As if on cue, sirens began wailing in the distance, quickly growing closer.

Magnum forced his eyes open and tried to look past Rick. Flashing lights illuminated the dark parking lot, causing patterns of red and white to flicker across his friend's shadowy figure. 

"Hey, don't worry," T.C. said, his voice now much closer to Magnum's right ear than it had been. "We'll find her. You just worry about staying put."

There was something about his friend's words that didn't make sense, Magnum just knew it, but he couldn't seem to focus long enough to figure out what it was about them that seemed wrong. The shrill sound of the ambulance's siren only amplified his splitting headache, and he quickly squeezed his eyes closed to try to block out the strobing lights that were making him feel sick again.

Somewhere between his struggle to block out the agonizingly loud sounds of the emergency sirens and the lights that were taking him dangerously close to losing whatever might be left in his stomach, everything faded away.

It was like floating on water, and, for a brief moment, he felt like he was back in another time and place. Floating in the ocean, letting the waves take him in toward the shore…

"Mr. Magnum? Can you hear me?"

There was a hand on his arm, something wrapping around his neck, and he felt a flash of panic as he realized he couldn't move his head.

And then something bright was in his eyes, once, twice, and he was pretty sure his head was going to explode. The waves he'd been floating on washed over him, and he felt himself slipping underneath them. He was sinking deeper and deeper, and even the sound of Rick calling his name did nothing to help him surface.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard the murmur of voices conversing urgently, but he couldn't find the motivation to surface and find out what was going on.

Instead, he just took a deep breath and let himself sink so deeply that everything else faded away into the distance…

* * *

It had been a long few hours—at least, Magnum thought it was only a few hours, but time was kind of a blur at the moment—since he'd woken up in the hospital. He had briefly come-to in the ambulance, but attempting to focus on anything had taken what little energy he'd had, and he'd faded right back out. By the time he'd managed to keep his eyes open for longer than a few seconds, he was already checked in and sporting a hospital gown and paper bracelet.

There were a litany of tests and scans, and none of the medical staff could tell him much more than he already knew about his situation. Whenever he pressed for more information, he was asked to stay calm for his own good, they were sure someone would be able to fill him in later, and could he please just hold still a moment longer?

Magnum was no stranger to hospitals, but, even knowing what to expect, he was exhausted by the time he was finally wheeled into a private room. He wasn't surprised to see his friends appear in the doorway a few minutes later, even before the nurse was done hooking up various machines, adjusting his IV line, and taking readings for his chart.

"Hey, T.M., how are you feeling?" Rick asked as he grabbed the chair next to the bed.

T.C. was right behind him and moved to take the small sofa against the wall.

"I'm fine." He meant for the words to be reassuring and dismissive so the others wouldn't push, but they sounded like the opposite actually coming out of his mouth.

Rick lifted an eyebrow and shook his head. "You know your doctor already filled us in, right? Three cracked ribs that you only have dumb luck to thank that they're not completely broken, a concussion, severe bruising basically everywhere… Want me to keep going?"

T.C. chuckled at that, and Magnum huffed a shallow sigh and then winced as even that proved to be too harsh and sent a flash of pain through his side and into his head. The drugs they'd given him were helping but also didn't completely make everything go away. He shifted against the pillows where the back of his bed was propped halfway between fully down and fully upright and fixed T.C. with a look.

"Where's Higgy?" he asked before either of the other men could say anything. The actual events that had gotten him into the hospital were fuzzy, and he couldn't think back too hard without his head feeling like it might explode—drugs or no drugs—and so he'd given up on trying to make himself remember. Something was wrong, he knew it, even if he couldn't put his finger on what exactly that was. But he also knew Higgins should be there with the guys, and the fact that she wasn't was setting off alarm bells in his foggy brain.

When T.C. exchanged a glance with Rick, it did nothing to make Magnum feel better.

"Thomas," T.C. began slowly. "What do you remember about what happened?"

Magnum closed his eyes and tried once again to think back to earlier that evening. "I…" He looked back at his friends. "I remember La Mariana after the case… Rick covered my tab for helping Kumu… We all hung out…" He trailed off, trying to recall more, but he _couldn't._ Whether that was the concussion or something else—his body responding to the trauma of what had landed him in the hospital, maybe—he wasn't sure. All he knew was he couldn't remember.

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Rick spoke up. "Do you remember anything else?"

Magnum wanted to just say no, to ask again what had happened, but, from out of nowhere, the memory of someone holding him down sprang to mind. It was immediately accompanied by the very vivid image of a foot slamming into his side.

From somewhere nearby, he could hear the sound of a machine starting to beep, and he knew it was probably one of the many alarms that meant something was wrong. His mind wasn't cooperating though; instead, a rush of memories—still foggy and uncertain to the point of seeming more like nightmares—started to flash through his mind.

"Hey, hey, Thomas?" The voice broke into his thoughts, and there was the gentle but firm pressure of something on his hand.

"Hey, breathe, okay? Just breathe," the same voice coaxed gently.

Magnum knew he recognized it, but he couldn't place it just yet. Still, he felt himself relaxing as he instinctively followed the voice's instructions. He groaned in pain as the effort cost him, and he licked his lips as he struggled to force his eyes open.

"That's it. Good. Okay, come on. Open your eyes."

 _'Rick,'_ he realized just before he managed to do as he'd been told.

Both of his friends were on their feet, Rick closer to him and holding his hand while T.C. stood by the foot of the bed. They both looked relieved as Magnum glanced slowly from one to the other, and T.C. shook his head.

"You had us worried—again," he added.

Magnum gave him a small smile and rubbed a hand over his face. "Sorry," he managed. He was breathing heavily now, and he winced again as the deeper breaths aggravated his side and head.

Shaking his head, Rick let go of where he'd been holding his friend's hand and sat back in the chair. "If the nurse shows up, she's gonna kick us out," he said with a small chuckle. "We're under strict orders not to get you excited if we want to stay."

Normally, Magnum would have come up with some quick reply to that, but he had to close his eyes again as a wave of exhaustion swept over him with no warning. He knew it was everything he'd been through coupled with the drugs, but he fought the urge to settle back and let himself drift off. There was something important the others weren't telling him.

"Guys," he said, forcing his eyes back open. He again looked between his friends; he knew they were holding back for what they thought was a 'good' reason, but he was also having none of it. "Where is Higgy? What happened?" He was long past worried, and there was no way he was waiting until the morning—or longer—to find out. "I know you're not supposed to get me excited, but, if you don't tell me, I'm checking myself out and going find out some other way."

Again, Rick and T.C. exchanged a look, then Rick cleared his throat.

Despite the way the pain and the drugs that were increasingly dulling it, as well as all of his other senses, Magnum could tell something was wrong. He knew his friends too well not to. The question was just how bad? Back in the camp, they'd come to an agreement, the same sort he and Higgins had: no matter how bad, they'd never hide the truth from each other. Whether it was an injury from the latest round of interrogation or the last of their water being used up, they'd made a pact to always be honest with each other. There wasn't much secret between them, especially about anything serious.

"They took Jules," Rick said quickly, then immediately rushed into the explanation before Magnum could respond. "We heard yelling from the parking lot and got out there to see her fighting with two big guys. But, before we could get close enough to do anything, they forced her into an SUV and took off."

"I tried to chase them down, but they beat me to the corner and I lost them," T.C. added, his tone low and regretful. "And no plates, so the cops can't even track it."

"What? Why…" Magnum swallowed. "We need to go." He started to push the blanket aside as he sat up, but his head began to swim and he was forced to lie back and close his eyes against the wave of nausea. If only he hadn't let them give him the strong meds… he wished he'd known so he could have refused anything stronger than an aspirin. He needed to be out there working the case, not stuck in a hospital bed. He—

"Hey," he heard Rick say beside him. There was a hand on his shoulder as his friend continued. "You need to lie still. You can't go running around the island in your condition."

Magnum risked blinking his eyes open to look over at his friend. "Rick, I can't just—"

"Yes, you can." T.C. had moved to stand by the bed, and Magnum glanced at him as he continued. "You're pretty bad off, brother."

A thought occurred to Magnum then. "Why aren't you guys out there?" He grimaced as he smothered a cough, and then continued. "You don't need to be here; we need to find her."

In answer, Rick waved his cell phone. "I've reached out to a couple of guys who can get me info on Iho and any other details about who might've attacked you," he replied. "We don't have anything else to go on at the moment, and the security footage at La Mariana didn't catch anything helpful." His expression said just how displeased he was with that fact.

"What about her phone?" Magnum asked. He again started to sit up, only to inhale sharply and let out a low groan as he had to lie back. "You… you can ping her phone. Find out where the guys who took her are?"

Rick shook his head. "It was in the parking lot; she must've dropped it during the struggle."

"In the meantime," T.C. added with a pointed look, "we're here because we wanted to make sure you were okay. You know how worried you had us?"

"Well, that, and Katsumoto threatened us with interfering with an investigation if we went off on our own without any evidence," Rick remarked, giving Magnum a knowing grin.

T.C. shook his head. "Speaking of, Katsumoto will be here in a minute. He asked us to update him once you were awake; he mentioned needing to get your statement."

"Yeah, okay," Magnum said with a resigned nod. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was starting to realize just how far he _wouldn't_ get if he tried to go rushing off after Iho's men. He would have to wait until at least the morning to do anything about what had happened. He was glad to hear the detective's name, though; if he couldn't be out there working the case himself, at least he knew someone he trusted was doing it. He and Detective Katsumoto had their differences, but they were friends, and he knew the other man would stop at nothing to find Higgins.

Of course, in the morning, Magnum planned to say whatever it took to get himself out of the hospital and out there helping.

A moment later, that train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door and Katsumoto stepping into the room.

"Magnum, glad to see you awake," the detective greeted. He nodded at T.C. and Rick, then turned back to the patient. "You feel up to giving your statement?" It was a polite question, but Magnum knew the importance of the police getting any witness statements as soon as possible, before someone forgot a potentially critical detail. Except…

"I really don't remember anything. It's all kind of a blur," Magnum offered in explanation, then, "What about Higgins? What leads do you have?"

Katsumoto raised an eyebrow. "That's why I'm here. The guys who jumped you, did you get a good look at either of them? Notice any identifying features?"

Magnum paused, then shook his head ever so slightly. He wanted to argue and ask more about Higgins, but Katsumoto continued with his questions.

"Did they say anything to you?" the detective pressed.

It was the other man's job, Magnum knew, but it was proving no less frustrating. But then he paused as something flashed across his mind. "Wait." He had forgotten. How had he forgotten?

"What is it, Magnum?" Katsumoto had his pen poised over his notepad.

"Iho. He thinks we have his money."

Katsumoto sighed and then nodded. "That's what you told Rick and T.C. at the scene. Anything else you can remember? Did they say anything to you about Higgins?"

Pausing to think back, Magnum finally was forced to give another small shake of his head. "No. I'd assume leverage, though. They're probably hoping that taking my partner will make me admit I lied and give them the money they think I have." He put a hand on the blanket again, but Rick reached out to stop him.

"Nothing doing, T.M. You heard the doc. 'Overnight observation' so they can make sure your brain isn't leaking out of your ears."

"You added that last part," Magnum groused in protest.

Rick raised an eyebrow. "I shouldn't have to. We can all read between the lines!"

T.C. chuckled, and Magnum sighed—and then grimaced. He couldn't afford time in the hospital, not when a vengeful drug dealer was using one of his friends against him.

"Magnum," Katsumoto prompted. "I need to know everything you can tell me about this guy."

"Well, the only things I really know about him are that he's a drug dealer and the location of his house—but I doubt he'll be there or have Higgins there," Magnum supplied, shooting a displeased look at Rick as his friend fussed with the edge of his blanket. "He knows I know where it is; he won't risk taking Higgins back there. He's too smart for that."

"What about his muscle?"

Magnum rubbed a hand over his face, fighting back the exhaustion and the drugs to try to concentrate. If he couldn't be up and out there, then helping Katsumoto was the next best thing, and he wasn't going to fail Higgins.

"Sorry," he said quietly, glancing away from the others to take a sudden interest in the blanket right in front of him. "It wasn't the same guys I saw before, at his house, but I don't think I had a chance to see much…" He trailed off.

There was silence in the room for a moment, then Katsumoto sighed and nodded. "Okay." He could see how quickly the man in the bed was fading, despite how hard Magnum was obviously fighting to stay awake and alert. Between all of the bruises Katsumoto could see—and the injuries he couldn't see but knew were there—he knew it had to be taking a considerable effort for the P.I. to answer his questions and discuss the case. He wasn't surprised though; the petite blonde had become a part of these men's family, and Katsumoto knew a thing or two about protecting the people you cared about. It was the whole reason he had picked up the extra shift when he'd heard about the call from La Mariana and not just clocked out, gone home, and let the next detective up take the case—not that he'd ever admit it to anyone.

"Get some rest, Magnum." He glanced over at Rick and T.C. "I'll update you when I have anything." With a parting nod to the men in the room, Katsumoto turned and headed back out the door.

* * *

"What were you thinking?" Iho snarled, clenching his fists as he faced down two of his men.

They looked much less sure of themselves than they had moments before, when they'd dragged in their prisoner and proudly told their boss what they'd done.

"I told you to go and find out what they knew about my money! I didn't say to _kidnap_ anyone!"

"But, boss…" Jun, the shorter of the two spoke up. "We tried getting the guy to talk, but he kept insisting he didn't know anything."

"So you figured putting us all on HPD's radar for taking someone against their will was the next best step?" Iho snapped.

The man blinked. "Well, people were starting to notice what was going on at that point, and we knew the P.I.s would be on guard—and maybe split with your cash—if we just tried again later."

Theo, his partner nodded. "So we decided to make the best of a bad situation and grabbed her. She'll talk, don't worry." He grinned, clearly proud of his reasoning, but his smile wavered as he took in the way his boss was glaring at him.

"And where is Magnum?" Iho demanded.

"I guess whatever hospital was closest to the bar?" Jun replied hesitantly, the answer coming more as a question than an actual statement. "He was pretty bad off when we left him; that's kinda why we took her instead."

Iho took a very pointed, deep breath and turned his attention to the woman they'd brought him. She was kneeling on the floor where they'd shoved her, her hands tied behind her back with a length of black rope. There was a cloth sack over her head, functioning as a rudimentary hood, so Iho couldn't see her face, but he knew she had to be the petite blonde who'd shown up at his house before, when she and her partner had offered their services. Stalking forward a few steps, Iho grabbed the bag and yanked it off her head.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the lights of the room, and Iho saw the blood trailing from her nose and smudged under her left eye. A strip of silver duct tape covered her mouth, muffling her heavy breathing. Iho cursed under his breath as he reached out and ripped off the gag, prompting a small grunt from the woman—Higgins, he remembered—at the sudden removal of the tape.

"Where's my money?" he demanded, getting straight to the point. He watched her expression for any flicker that might tell him she was lying.

Higgins returned his gaze with a firm look. Her eyes were steely, and she seemed ready to repeat her earlier takedown of his men if she was given the opportunity. "I don't have it," she replied, her British accent sharp and clear. "Two of the men who took it are dead, and the third was arrested trying to flee the island with it. Which means your money is currently very secure in HPD lockup somewhere. I don't know where that is, let alone have access." She glanced furiously at the men on either side of her and then returned her gaze to Iho and lifted her chin defiantly. "So, you see, we don't have your money or even—"

"That's the same crap story your partner kept feeding us!" Jun yelled in anger. His backhanded swing caught Higgins on the right side of her head, and she fell sideways, barely managing to stop herself from hitting the ground.

Jun raised his hand again, and Iho pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it straight at the man's face.

"Enough!" he yelled.

The silence following his shout was deafening, Iho noted with satisfaction as he returned Jun's blinking stare unwaveringly. "Now," he said, slowly and purposefully, letting his anger leech into his words, "I'm going to have to figure out how to make the best of _this_ situation you idiots got me into. Get her out of the way and let me think about this. _Move!"_ he roared when no one obeyed immediately.

Iho turned his back on the others as the men roughly hauled the private investigator to her feet and forced her through the back door, ignoring whatever she was snarling at his guys; there were more important things to care about at the moment. He glanced at his watch, a plan slowly coming together in his mind. There were a few things to take care of, and then he'd make sure Thomas Magnum returned his missing money—HPD lockup or no HPD lockup. The man would have no choice if he wanted his partner back alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I have no formal medical training besides basic first aid courses, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of any actual injuries and their consequences. I'm just going with what I know from research and media and attempting to deduce things on my own. Of course, it helps that the show itself falls more into the realm of escapism than realism, so I feel like I have a little more leeway, but I still did my best not to make it too unrealistic. ;)

_"You have 24 hours to get my money, evidence or not, or your partner's dead."_

Magnum glared at the bouquet of flowers—some random assortment of local blooms—as the words from the note ran through his head. He didn't have to reread the slip of paper to remember what it said; the words were already burned into his memory.

He wanted nothing more than to go charging off after Iho, but, between the way his side and head still felt like they were splitting when he moved much and his friends promising to get information for him, he'd been convinced to wait at least a little longer. It was only eight in the morning—at the end of a very restless and painful night—but Magnum had every intention of signing himself out and hunting down the criminal before lunch.

"No go at the nurses' station," Rick announced, walking back into the hospital room, his shoulders slumped slightly in dejection. "Whoever dropped off the flowers left them at the front desk and didn't say much—and he was wearing a ball cap so they didn't get a good look at his face. Besides, who looks twice at a florist delivery guy?"

"And I bet whoever it was used that hat to his advantage with the security cameras," Magnum mused out loud, rubbing absently at his aching side.

"I think we need to call Katsumoto," T.C. pointed out. "He needs to know," he added when Magnum looked his way. "Plus, he can request the hospital's security footage just in case."

Magnum nodded slowly. His head was still bothering him when he moved too fast, and he was doing his best not to exacerbate the dull pounding into a full-blown, migraine-style headache. "Can you—"

"I got you, bro," T.C. replied without needing to hear Magnum's full question. Within seconds, he had his phone in his hand and was dialing the detective. He set the device on the small rolling table by the hospital bed and pressed the button for speaker mode as the call rang.

A moment later, Katsumoto picked up. _"Hey, T.C. How's Magnum?"_

"One of Iho's guys was here," Magnum jumped in before T.C. could reply to the question.

 _"What?"_ Katsumoto exclaimed. _"Are you okay? What happened?"_

"We didn't see him," Magnum explained. "He left flowers at the front desk with my room number on them, and the note has a message from Iho; we have a day to return his money or he's going to kill Higgins."

There was silence over the line for a moment, then they heard Katsumoto sigh.

 _"Right. Okay. I'm actually about to head to Iho's place now to question him. I know,"_ he added, _"you said they wouldn't take her to a location you already know about. I agree, but I still have to cover all my bases. And who knows? There might be a clue, or Iho might slip up and tell me something."_

"Need backup?" Magnum asked.

_"What?"_

Katsumoto's exclamation mingled with similar protests from Rick and T.C.

"Your doctor hasn't discharged you," Rick said pointedly, leaning toward the phone to make sure Katsumoto heard his entire statement. "Do I need to go over your list of injuries again? What were they? Oh, right, a _concussion._ And _cracked ribs!"_

But Magnum wasn't going to take the lecture lying down—literally or figuratively. "Look," he argued, pushing himself to more of a sitting position and gritting his teeth as he refused to show the pain that shot up into his head at the movement, "we all know Iho is serious. I can't just stay here while Higgins is in danger."

"Can and will," T.C. objected, although Magnum knew his friend well enough to catch the hint in T.C.'s tone that said he knew the argument was a losing battle. Every one of them cared about Higgins—and every one of them knew that.

"You'd do the same thing if you were in my place," Magnum persisted. "Look, you all know as well as I do at this point that Iho's not a patient guy. And this whole 'losing his money to thieves' thing makes him look bad to his dealers and weak to his competition." If the beeping of the machine he was still hooked up to hadn't told him his heart rate was rising, the throbbing in his side at his increased breathing would have. "He's not just going to sit around and wait."

 _"Look, I get it,"_ Katsumoto broke in when Magnum paused for a moment. _"You're not going to be much help out in the field in your condition, but Iho is clearly expecting you to be trying to save your partner. He'll probably have someone watching you to make sure you're complying now that you got his note."_

"So, if I pretend like I'm planning how to steal the money from HPD, it'll make Iho less suspicious." Magnum could see T.C. and Rick nodding along as he spoke. It did make the most sense, but he didn't like the idea. He wanted to be out there looking for Higgins, not sitting back and playing charades and letting someone else do all the work.

"What can we do?" T.C. asked, directing his question toward the phone.

 _"Make sure Magnum doesn't kill himself,"_ Katsumoto remarked, prompting a snort of laughter from Rick and T.C. and an indignant huff from Magnum. _"I'll let you know once I finish talking to Iho."_

It wasn't the most ideal plan of action, but Magnum had to admit it was their only real option at that point—at least, unless one of Rick's contacts came through. But the minute they had any kind of location on where Higgins might be, Magnum wasn't planning to wait around for permission or backup.

Rick was saying something to Katsumoto as Magnum turned his attention back to the others.

Clearing his throat, Magnum jumped in before the detective could hang up. "Hey, Gordon?" he paused. "Thanks."

 _"I'm doing this for Higgins as much as for you,"_ came Katsumoto's reply. _"Besides,"_ he added, _"if anyone is going to throw either of you into a dark room and lose the key, it's going to be me. I think I've earned it."_

That prompted another round of snickers from Rick and T.C., and Magnum rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

 _"I thought so,"_ Katsumoto chuckled. _"I'll call you as soon as I'm done."_

As soon as the call ended, before T.C. or Rick could say anything, Magnum hit the call button by his bed. "I'm signing myself out," he announced, looking between the others.

Neither looked surprised, although neither looked happy about it.

"You sure?" Rick pressed. "You know, we can help Katsumoto if he needs it. You really shouldn't be running around in your condition." Just like T.C.'s had, his tone conveyed he knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he had to try.

"You read the note," Magnum replied simply.

"Yeah, we did," Rick gave in with a sigh. "Fine. But if you kill yourself, don't say we didn't warn you."

* * *

The call came just as T.C. was pulling out of the hospital parking lot.

"Katsumoto!" Magnum put the phone on speaker and held it up so the others could hear both sides of the conversation. "Did you get anything from Iho?"

 _"Besides the fact that he's lying through his teeth?"_ Katsumoto asked flatly. _"No. But I might have found a clue. I'm texting you a photo; let me know if you recognize it."_

The text notification came over the speaker then, and Magnum tapped to switch screens from the call to his messaging app. Rick leaned over from where he was sitting in the second row to watch over his friend's shoulder.

"What is it?" T.C. asked, flicking his eyes toward Magnum in the passenger seat before having to look back at the road ahead of him.

"Higgy's necklace," Magnum replied. He tapped and stretched the image to zoom in on the small gold pendant held by a black-gloved hand. It was slightly dirty, as if the detective had picked it up off the ground and cleaned some of the mud off, but there was no mistaking the piece of jewelry.

_"So it is hers?"_

Magnum nodded. "Yeah, she was wearing it last night. She was definitely there." His voice rose on the last words as he clenched his free fist. He already knew Iho had taken Higgins; between the questioning from his attackers and then the note with the flowers, there was no mistaking who was at fault. But _seeing_ the evidence like that drove home the fact that their hunt for clues the day before had led to the trouble they were now in.

_"Okay, thanks."_

As T.C. exited the highway in the direction of Robin's Nest, Magnum glanced at the image again. "Where'd you find it?" he asked.

_"Outside of Iho's place, in the dirt by the driveway."_

"So she was there," Magnum observed, glancing out the window and taking a slow breath, trying to contain his frustration. Anger alone wasn't going to save Higgins—but it would definitely come in handy when he finally got his hands on Iho or the goons who'd taken her and put him in the hospital overnight.

The others in the van had stayed quiet up until then, listening, but now Rick jumped into the conversation. "Do you think she still might be there?"

 _"No,"_ Katsumoto replied. _"It's just a gut feeling, but I don't think Iho would keep her at the house. It's too close to the city, too much of a chance for something to happen. Not to mention, he'd have known the police would get involved after what happened at La Mariana. Even if Magnum would've tried to keep it quiet because of the threats, there were witnesses to the kidnapping."_

Magnum knew the detective was right. Iho was smart enough not to leave himself open to an easy arrest, which meant the drug dealer wouldn't have had Higgins brought to his house where the crime could easily be proven by evidence. Then he blinked. That meant… "Wait, this wasn't planned."

_"What do you mean?"_

"Like you said, he wouldn't want to have her at the house. Too many chances for something to go wrong with his plan." Magnum was talking fast, rushing through his reasoning. "He would have had his men bring her somewhere more isolated, more quiet."

 _"So why was she at the house at all?"_ Katsumoto finished for him. _"You're thinking the men who attacked you decided to grab her without being told to?"_

Magnum glanced over at his friends, who were starting to nod along. "It makes sense," he pointed out. "Look, I still can't remember everything about what happened last night, but obviously they were sent to rough me up and get answers about the money. They waited until I was alone and probably weren't expecting it when Higgins came out and called for help"—he looked to Rick for confirmation, then continued when his buddy nodded encouragingly—"and they didn't want to go back to their boss empty-handed, so they decided to take advantage of the situation rather than just cut and run with nothing to show for it."

"That means they moved her last night," Rick remarked before Katsumoto could reply. He put out a hand to steady himself against the driver's seat as T.C. turned onto a quiet street. "They wouldn't wait for morning; that's something better done under the cover of darkness."

 _"They would've taken her somewhere secluded,"_ Katsumoto continued. _"One of the SUVs in the driveway at Iho's place had mud caked on the tires, and a couple of his guys had smudges of mud on their shoes—but it didn't rain yesterday."_

Magnum was nodding along as the detective spoke. "So we're thinking construction site? Or maybe somewhere out in the forest?" he asked.

 _"Makes sense,"_ came the reply. _"They'd have wanted to take her somewhere secluded and out of the way. It's not much, but it's our best lead at the moment. Unfortunately, I don't have enough solid evidence to get a warrant to search any of Iho's properties. There's nothing physically connecting him to the attack and kidnapping."_

T.C. frowned. "What about the note on the flowers?"

"It wasn't signed," Magnum replied grimly. _"We_ know who it was, but there's nothing to tie Iho to it. Just my word against his."

 _"Unfortunately,"_ Katsumoto agreed. _"And, with no company name, we can't track down the sender."_ He sounded frustrated. _"The security footage from the bar caught the attack, but it's not clear enough to ID the men, and there was no plate on their vehicle. Magnum's the only one who can connect this to Iho, but there's no evidence to back it up. We're circulating Higgins' photo and looking into Iho's known associates, but that's all we can do for now until another lead pans out."_

Magnum made a face. "He fired two of his guys yesterday after Higgins and I got into his house; whoever he sent after us might not even be on that list."

They were pulling through the front gates of the estate at that point, and T.C. guided the van down the driveway toward the main house as Katsumoto's voice came over the line again.

_"That's why I'm going to sit on Iho's house and follow if he or his guys leave. It's a shot in the dark, but I've got a hunch it'll pay off."_

"Want me to come help out?" T.C. offered. He put the van in park and then turned toward his right to look over at his friends. "Call me if they move, and I can fly over in the chopper. If they happen to look up, they'll just see the Island Hoppers helicopter, and they'll just think it's some vacationers out for a tour of the island."

Magnum was about to suggest tagging along, but T.C. raised an eyebrow and shot him a look.

"And, no, you can't come with, T.M. For one, you look like death warmed over," he continued as Magnum opened his mouth to object.

"Yeah," Rick chimed in. "And aren't you're supposed to be putting on a show in case Iho's got anyone watching you?"

Magnum made a face, but, before he could respond, Katsumoto joined in the argument.

_"They're right, Magnum. You need to look as unsuspecting as possible to anyone Iho might have tailing you. They'll know it'll take you some time to figure out how to steal the money back, so you and Rick driving around Honolulu shouldn't concern them."_

Knowing the others were right didn't make it any easier. Magnum sighed, grimacing at the way the pain still throbbed through him. The medication he'd been given at the hospital for the ride home was good but not the _really_ good stuff, and it was obvious. His doctor had been extremely unhappy with Magnum's decision to sign himself out against medical advice but had provided him with a prescription—"to be filled as soon as possible"—and strict instructions on things to watch out for between the concussion and his damaged ribs.

Magnum winced as he shifted in his seat and his right hand went unconsciously to his side. He'd been wrapped up, but the injuries still seemed to pulse in time to his heart rate. When he glanced up, he caught both Rick and T.C. watching him and just shook his head as he turned his attention back to the phone.

"You know three against one's not a fair fight," he complained, then reluctantly nodded his head, "Okay, fine. I'll do it," he agreed. "It is our best option. But only if you call us the minute you figure out where she is."

Injuries or not, there was no way he was letting himself get sidelined.

* * *

In the hours since Iho's men had given up on questioning her and left her tied up in the dim room, Higgins had been unsuccessfully searching for a way to free herself. She was bound to a sturdy chair—metal, which meant she couldn't even try to find a way to break it and free herself like she could have if it were wooden. And, without access to any sharp objects, there was no other way she could free herself. She'd been trying to work at the layers of duct tape holding her firmly in place, but she'd had no luck so far.

The entire situation was extremely inconvenient, made even more so by the fact that she'd been moved to an unknown location. When the hood had first come off, she'd recognised Iho's living room, and part of her had been hopeful these criminals would have been dumb enough to keep her there. Magnum knew Iho was to blame for her being taken—when she'd left La Mariana and found him on the pavement, she'd heard the two goons asking about Iho's money—so it should have only been a matter of time before Rick and T.C., the HPD, or both came rushing in.

With that thought, though, came the nagging worry of how badly injured Magnum had been. From the little she'd been able to make out in the few free seconds she'd had to take in the situation, he'd been pretty badly injured. It had been dark, but Higgins had been able to see just how dazed he was. If he wasn't lucid enough when help arrived, she wasn't sure how much information he'd be able to give the others. But she knew her partner, and so she was holding out hope he'd have been able to point the others in the right direction.

And then Iho had ordered his men to lock her up out of the way and, much to her frustration at not being able to just save her friends the trouble, Higgins hadn't been able to pull off an escape whilst at the house. The men had taken it upon themselves to make sure she didn't get away while they waited for their boss's decision. She'd been dumped in a small room—a closet really—with no windows and devoid of anything useful. The only way in or out had been one door, which the taller of the two men had stood just outside of.

The only positive to come out of that had been her convincing them to untie her while she was locked up. "I can't possibly get past you and out of the house without someone stopping me," she'd reasoned with her guards. She'd only been about fifty percent certain they'd give in, but it had actually worked. And _that_ had enabled her to undo the clasp on her necklace. There was no doubt in her mind the men were going to move her—there was no way Iho was going to keep her in a location Magnum knew about—and she'd be ready when they did.

Sure enough, it had been only a short time after that when the same two goons as had grabbed her at the bar had walked in, tied her hands again, thrown the hood back over her head, and dragged her outside to a vehicle. When she'd felt her feet hit the sidewalk outside of the house, she'd purposefully stumbled, and she'd let the necklace drop while she was on the ground. Hopefully Magnum or one of the others would find it when they talked to Iho. It was a clue that she'd been there, which would hopefully lead them to wherever she was now.

She wasn't completely sure where that was, but she at least had a general idea of the area. The ride had taken them somewhere around half an hour, give or take, and she'd tried to track their turns and the distances along the way. By the time they'd arrived at their destination and she'd been forced from the SUV, she knew she'd be able to backtrack if she could get free.

Of course, that was proving harder to do than she'd hoped. The men had finally left her alone after tying her to the chair, removing the hood, and then trying to get more information from her. They were undoubtedly hoping to pull something from her that would impress their boss and get them out of the hole they'd dug for themselves. She'd only been able to tell them the same thing they'd already heard from her—and from Magnum, it seemed—and they'd eventually tired of threatening her and left her alone in the empty room. From what they'd said, it appeared Iho was planning to hold up his end of the bargain—at least until Magnum brought him the money—and so he'd ordered his men to simply leave her in a secure location until then.

But she still couldn't get free from her bonds to even try escaping, so it looked like the only thing left for her to do was wait, either for help to show up or for an opportunity to escape. Whichever came first.

* * *

"So, where do we go first?" Rick called through the half-open door into the bathroom.

After T.C. had dropped the others off at the estate, he'd headed out to Island Hoppers to make sure the chopper was fueled and ready to go the minute Katsumoto called. They didn't want to waste a moment and risk losing track of what might be their only lead to Higgins' location. That left Rick and Thomas to plan their next move in making any of Iho's men who might be watching them think they were actually planning a heist of some kind. But, first, Thomas needed to get cleaned up and changed.

His decision to leave the hospital that morning had meant neither of his friends had had time to go by the estate and grab Thomas a change of clothes. Rick had managed to find an overpriced aloha shirt in his friend's size in the hospital gift shop to replace the dirty, bloodstained shirt Thomas had been wearing the night before, but Thomas had had to settle for wearing the same shorts he'd had on at the bar, which were dirty and scuffed from the fight in the parking lot. The dark color hid most of the stains, but Thomas had not looked happy about having to put them on again—although he had, since it was either that or not leave the hospital.

It had required assistance from the others for him to slowly get dressed, and Rick had seen the pain that had filled his friend's face at the effort it took, even with help. And then Rick had noticed yet again just how badly off his friend was when they'd headed for the guest house. He'd followed behind Thomas as the injured man had slowly made their way toward the smaller building, ready to jump in at a moment's notice if necessary. Regardless of the fact that Rick did understand—because he knew he'd be doing the exact same thing if he were in Thomas's shoes—he was not happy about letting his friend doing anything besides resting, preferably in the hospital. It didn't take a genius to see how bad off Thomas was; Rick honestly wasn't sure if his friend would be able to make it through the day, but he also knew the only way to get Thomas back in bed was for them to solve the mystery and find Higgins. So that was what they were going to do—and then Rick was going to make sure Thomas was readmitted to the hospital and didn't leave for at least several more days. Maybe a week.

"Well," Thomas replied as he slowly opened the door. The word was drawn out, as if he was still piecing together exactly what he wanted to say. Water dripped from his hair, but he didn't make a move to wipe the offending drops from his bruised face.

Rick could see a few drops spattered across the beige bandages wrapped around Thomas's torso, above the towel wrapped around his waist, but didn't have time to comment on it before his friend continued.

"I figure we need to put on a good show, so we should stop by the police stations in the city, starting with the ones closest to the marina. And then we'll figure it out from there."

As he spoke, Thomas moved across the room to his closet, and Rick didn't miss the way his friend winced as he moved or the heavy limp to his step. It was the same limp Rick had seen as they were walking over from the main house, which seemed even worse now than it had when they were leaving the hospital, and he sighed.

"Fine, but I'm driving." When Thomas turned to protest, Rick just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Come on, T.M. When was the last time I got to drive the Ferrari?" he asked with a smirk.

Thomas laughed, but his lighthearted chuckle was cut short when he put a hand to his side and inhaled sharply. A pained look crossed his face as he paled and reached for a nearby chair for support.

"Hey! You good?" Rick sprang to his side and grabbed his arm. "Here, sit down."

Thomas tried to wave him off but then gave in and let his friend guide him around to take a seat. "I'm… I'm fine, Rick." He licked his lips and closed his eyes. "Just don't make me laugh again."

"Well, no promises, but I will try to control my scathing sense of humor until you heal up," Rick quipped, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "Now," he said, turning toward the closet, "do you care which shirt you wear or should I just pick?"

Ten minutes later, Thomas had a clean set of clothes on thanks to Rick's help, and both men were headed back to the main house.

"We need Higgy's laptop," Thomas had said as Rick watched him slowly button up a fresh shirt. "We can use it while we're driving around, try to find some other property connected to Iho where he might have had her taken."

"Are you sure you can use the programs?" Rick had asked doubtfully. "I mean, Higgy is, like, a super hacker."

That had prompted a look of mock offense. "Hey, come on. Give me some credit," Thomas had objected.

They were still bickering about it as they walked into the study.

"I'm just saying, T.M., you—" Rick stopped short. 

Kumu was standing in front of the tall bookshelves, adjusting one of the decorative artifacts on a middle shelf. She turned when she heard voices, smiling widely as she recognized who was approaching. However, her expression faltered as she took in the two men in front of her, shock and then worry quickly overtaking her smile.

"Thomas!" she gasped, hurrying forward to put a hand on his arm. "What happened? Come sit down!"

"I'm okay, Kumu," Thomas tried to assure her, although he didn't argue as she gently nudged him to sit in one of the pair of leather chairs across from the desk.

"You do not look fine," Kumu tutted, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "What happened?" she asked, glancing from Thomas to Rick and back again.

Rick squirmed internally at the flash of guilt he felt under Kumu's gaze. Suddenly, his and T.C.'s decision to let the older woman sleep through the night seemed like the exact opposite of the right decision.

"The drug dealer whose money Milo stole thinks Higgins and I recovered the cash," Thomas explained.

"Because you'd told him you had a lead," Kumu recalled. She frowned as she put the pieces together. "So… he came after you? When was this? Is Juliet okay?" she added quickly, her voice rising slightly with increased concern.

Rick rubbed the back of his neck. "That's, uh, why we're here and Thomas isn't still in the hospital."

"Iho took Higgy hostage," Thomas supplied, glancing at Rick and then back at Kumu, and the others clearly heard the worry in his voice. "He gave me a day to get his money for him."

Kumu's eyes had widened as the men spoke, and she jumped in as soon as Thomas had finished. "When did all this happen?" she asked again.

Rick winced internally at the answer he was going to have to give, but Thomas replied before he could.

"Last night," the other man offered. "I got jumped heading back to my car when I left the bar, and they took Higgy right after."

"And no one called me?" The look on Kumu's face made Rick feel even worse about his decision than he already was

He cleared his throat. "But you needed the sleep," he offered, trying to convey why they'd thought it was an acceptable idea. "You'd had a traumatic day with Milo taking you hostage and then you helping him run from the cops and then, you know, him dying…" He trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. "We just thought you might not need or, uh, want to go back to the hospital so soon after everything."

"I _needed_ to be there for my family!" Kumu exclaimed with a small wave of her hands, then sighed and shook her head. "You should have at least called and left the decision up to me! And not just to tell me Thomas was in the hospital, but that Juliet was—is—missing! I mean," she added, "I understand why Thomas didn't call; I wouldn't have expected him to, but you and T.C. on the other hand…" She trailed off and gave Rick a pointed look.

"You're right, Kumu. I'm sorry," Rick apologized. "I… we just thought…" He sighed. "It won't happen again."

"It better not!" Kumu tsked. Then her gaze softened slightly. "I appreciate you trying to let me rest, but, if any of you ever get yourselves into trouble again, I expect to be notified _immediately,_ regardless of the time of night."

Rick nodded, feeling adequately chastised.

"Now, are you sure you're all right?" Kumu turned back to the man in the chair beside her. She glanced him over again disapprovingly. "You look like you still belong in the hospital."

Thomas just shook his head. "I'll be fine. We need to find Higgins before Iho's deadline is up."

When Kumu looked at Rick in question, he shrugged and spread his hands as if to say, _'You try keeping him in bed.'_

She nodded knowingly, then turned back to Thomas. "Fine, but you're going right back there the minute we find Juliet. Or sooner if your condition worsens," she added sternly.

Thomas gave her a small, reassuring smile, though it was lopsided thanks to the swelling on his face. "Now you sound like Rick."

"He knows what he's talking about." Kumu shook her head and shot another look at Rick, then nodded firmly. "Right," she said, clapping her hands together. "How can I help?"

* * *

"Hey, you saw that?" Rick asked his passenger, even as his eyes darted back to the rearview mirror to take another look.

Beside Rick, Magnum shifted in his seat and then bit back a groan and aborted his attempt to turn around. He tried not to let his friend see how badly the attempt to move hurt; the last thing he needed was yet another comment about why he should be sitting on the sidelines and letting everyone else do all the legwork. That was the last thing Magnum wanted; it felt too much like giving up when he could still be helping. So he just shifted to the right to look out of the Ferrari's side mirror. "What? That black sedan?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah. It's been staying a few cars back for a while now." He switched lanes and both men noticed when the driver of the sedan did the same.

"Yeah," Magnum said, turning his attention back though the window. "That's definitely our tail."

Without using his turn signal, Rick hopped over another lane to the right, then quickly turned onto a side street. He and Magnum both watched behind them as several other cars took the turn, then glanced knowingly at each other when the black sedan appeared a few seconds later.

"What now?" Rick wanted to know. "Should I lose them?"

Magnum shook his head. "You know we can't do that. Iho's only going to get suspicious if we shake his guys. He might even take it out on Higgy. We have to make it look like we're planning to follow his instructions to the letter."

"But?" Rick prompted.

Magnum looked back to his friend and grinned. "Now that we know they're there, we can figure out who they are." He flipped over the cell phone he'd been holding idly as they drove and tapped in the PIN to unlock the screen. "We just need to get a picture of them. Then Kumu can use the laptop to figure out who they are. Higgy's been teaching her some stuff," he added when Rick looked over in question, waving the phone with the text he'd been composing. "I'm just letting her know what the plan is so she can be ready."

"Ah," Rick nodded. "Okay. Well, assuming these guys have some decent criminal connections on the island, there's a place up here we can stop without them getting suspicious."

When more explanation didn't follow, Magnum tilted his head slightly in question. "And?"

"That's all you need to know," Rick shrugged. "I can't go around outing all my contacts," he continued as Magnum chuckled. "It's just a guy I know who deals in certain… hard-to-acquire items that would come in handy for someone planning to steal evidence from a police station."

Rick took a right at the next light and continued down the road for a few minutes, then took a left and continued driving. Every time he or Magnum looked behind them, the same black sedan was there; it was always two to four cars behind, but it followed them steadily regardless of how quickly Rick drove. Although, Magnum supposed, the criminals tailing them didn't care if they were noticed. They probably preferred it, actually; that way, their target knew they were there and would be more apt to do what he'd been told.

They were still heading down the main road at a fairly fast pace, and so Magnum allowed himself a moment to lean his pounding head back against the headrest. It was hard to concentrate, even with the handful of Tylenol he'd swallowed before they'd headed out from Robin's Nest. Rick had disapproved severely when Magnum had refused to fill his prescription for painkillers. There was no way Magnum was going to be able to make it through the day without strong medication, Rick had argued, but strong medication was the exact reason Magnum _didn't_ want to take the pills. If he took them, he wouldn't be able to help the others, not with the long list of side effects that came with the painkillers.

One of his friends was in trouble, and nothing was going to keep him from being a part of the rescue. He knew Rick was right, but that didn't matter. He could fill his prescription and sleep for a week once this was all over.

Sighing as shallowly as he could, Magnum closed his eyes and pushed everything to the back of his mind. They would get to their destination soon enough, and then it would be time for action. For now, though, he could just listen to the thrum of the car's engine and feel the wind on his face and in his hair. He—

"Hey."

Magnum woke with a start at the sound of Rick's voice and immediately had to clench his teeth on a cry as the quick movement jostled his side. He closed his eyes again and swallowed, willing himself to not throw up in Robin's car. When the wave of pain had subsided and his stomach was finally back under control, he took a breath and looked back at Rick.

His friend was watching him with concern etched across his face. It was a look Magnum remembered well from the hellish months they'd spent in the camp together, not to mention all the times before during missions. Magnum had seen it directed at himself as well as at the other guys, but, this time, it was fixed directly on him.

"You good?" was all Rick said, even though his expression made it clear he wanted to say a lot more.

"Yeah," Magnum replied quickly and then changed the subject. "The sedan stopped too?" He figured it had, but they needed to locate it and then take photos if they could without being spotted.

Sitting up to look over the back of the car, Rick searched the street for a moment, then turned back to Magnum with a nod. "Yeah. They're a few yards away, parked on the other side of the street. So, what? We go inside so they see us playing our role?"

"Well, we could do that," Magnum said as he slowly reached to undo his seatbelt. "Or we could take a more direct approach." He winked at Rick.

A few moments later, they were making their way across the street, headed right for the black sedan. Rick hung back behind his friend, putting on his best "none of this is my choice" expression.

"Hey, boys," Magnum greeted, reaching out to clap a hand down on the open driver's side window of the car.

The two men inside regarded him with a mix of curiosity and annoyance, but neither said anything in reply. The driver glanced at Rick and then back at Magnum as the private investigator continued.

"So, what, Iho's got you following me to make sure I do what he wants?" He shook his head when there was still no response from either man. "Come on, fellas, at least tell me if she's okay. I'm doing everything I can to get the money back, but it's gonna take a little time. Breaking money out of HPD lockup is serious business."

Exchanging a glance with his passenger, the driver snorted and glared at Magnum. "Your partner's fine," he grunted. "But she won't be if you don't hurry up and do what you're told. You've got less than a day left, and our boss is a man of his word." He smirked coldly.

"Yeah, don't worry," Magnum retorted with a glare of his own.

"Then get to work," the driver snapped, jerking his head in the direction of the office building across the street. "Time's wastin'."

Magnum lifted his hands and stepped back, nearly faltering but catching himself just in time with what he managed to make look like a slap of parting on the top of the sedan. "Nice talking to you guys."

He limped back toward the red sports car, passing Rick, who turned and followed him. Neither man said anything until they were well away from the black car.

Rick glanced behind them and then remarked, "They're still watching us like hawks."

"Let's go inside so they think we're doing what we need to," Magnum replied, and both continued toward the building. "You got what we needed?"

Nodding, Rick lifted his phone surreptitiously. "Right here. Both of them, clear as day. I'll text them to Kumu now."

"Great," Magnum grinned in satisfaction. "We can't risk having them arrested yet, but maybe we can find something that'll give us a clue to where Iho's got Higgy." He paused to catch his breath, then looked back to Rick. "Ask Kumu to look into their phone records if you can. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have made calls from a secluded location where Iho might have another property."

"I'll ask her to see if she can get their financials too. You never know; maybe they used an ATM." Rick finished typing out the message, then hit 'Send' and tucked his phone back in his pocket. "Don't worry, T.M.," he said as he pulled open the glass door for his friend to enter, then stepped through behind him into the air-conditioned lobby. "We're going to solve this."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are, folks. The last chapter - of what I initially thought was gonna be a one-shot... foolish me. I really should know better by now.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed it so far and that you enjoy this last installment. Thanks for all the feedback! Like I said, I'd had this idea during the episode when they told Iho they had a lead and negotiated their cut but then nothing further was mentioned about it and they didn't take him down as part of the wrap-up... and I didn't think someone like Iho would just let them run off and never follow up. So, naturally, my brain immediately jumped to what might come of that, but then I had a case of writer's block, and it took me a while to finish this story. Although I'm just glad to be able to write again, it does make me happy to read all the comments that y'all are all liking it.
> 
> So without further ado, the conclusion! *fanfare noises*

"Magnum," Katsumoto greeted as the call connected. "What's up?"

_ "We know where she might be,"  _ the other man replied, dispensing with any formalities.  _ "We looked into the guys following us, and one of them has some land outside of the city in his name. Iho's been seen out there a few times, and a couple of his guys were just there late last night." _

Katsumoto blinked at the sudden rush of information. "And you know this how?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

_ "One of Rick's contacts just called with the info, plus we managed to snap some photos of our tail and ran their faces through the computer. It all matches up," _ he finished.

"Right." Katsumoto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The fact that Rick always seemed to know a guy was helpful in the world of private investigating, but it certainly complicated paperwork. "Okay, send me the address. I'll look into it."

_ "Higgy could be there,"  _ Magnum pressed. He sounded determined, but Katsumoto could hear the fatigue in the other man's voice.  _ "Rick and I are about to head out there." _

"What?" Katsumoto asked, sitting up in his seat. "Magnum, you're supposed to be—"

_"I know. I'm supposed to be letting Iho's guys tail me,"_ Magnum said quickly. He sounded almost apologetic, like he had forgotten an important part of his explanation. _"They followed us back to Robin's Nest already, and the cameras show they're parked on the road just outside of the gates. Like we said before, they think we're still planning on stealing the money, so they'll just think we're holed up here planning our next move. If this lead doesn't pan out, we'll come back and let them start following us around Honolulu again."_

Katsumoto frowned. "And how do you plan on leaving without them seeing?"

_ "T.C.'s picking us up," _ Magnum supplied.  _ "If he comes in from the ocean side, the trees will block anyone watching from the road. There's no reason for them to think I'd try to leave any other way, so we can fly out and back and they won't suspect a thing. Even if they hear a chopper, there are enough tourist flights around here that it shouldn't raise their suspicions." _

Although Katsumoto wanted to point out that Magnum should let his friends do the legwork while the private investigator stayed put at the estate, he also knew arguing that would be a futile endeavor. "I'm going to assume I can't talk you out of this," he said with another sigh.

_ "No." _

Before the detective could reply, movement at the house down the street caught his eye. He watched as a tall, well-built man exited the front door and headed for the black SUV parked in the driveway. Katsumoto recognized Jake Iho right away, and he knew the man who walked out behind the drug dealer too—a small-time thug who made his living by working for whoever paid the most at any given time.

The thug jumped behind the wheel of the SUV as Iho took the passenger seat, then the vehicle backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the street, headed in the opposite direction of Katsumoto's car.

_ "Hey, Katsumoto, you there?" _ Magnum's voice came over the line.

Quickly starting his own engine, Katsumoto shifted the phone to his left shoulder so he could put his car in gear and follow the SUV. "Yeah. Iho's just leaving his house; I'm tailing him now."

_ "That's great!" _ Magnum exclaimed.  _ "Let us know if you find anything?" _

"You too," Katsumoto replied. "And Magnum?"

_ "Yeah?" _

It was probably useless, but he said it anyway. "Don't do anything stupid."

Magnum exhaled slowly, and Katsumoto could just imagine the grimly amused smile as he replied,  _ "No promises, Gordy." _

The call disconnected, and Katsumoto shook his head. He looked ahead to where the SUV was just taking a left at the light and pressed the accelerator and swung into the appropriate turn lane. He just hoped they found Higgins before Magnum killed himself.

* * *

Magnum had been on more helicopters in his life than he could count. Between his years in the Navy and the number of times he'd ridden with T.C.—case-related and otherwise—he'd lost track of how many times he'd jumped in a chopper and let the pilot take him wherever he needed to go. Compared to some of those trips, this particular ride was quite short—but it also felt like one of the longest he'd ever taken.

Their plan had gone off without a hitch, and T.C. had landed on Robin's helipad to take Magnum and Rick to investigate the address Kumu had found. It wasn't very far by chopper, and Kumu had stayed behind to watch the security feeds and let the others know i0f anything changed. With any luck, they'd find Higgins at the property in the forest, and HPD could then swing by and pick up the two guys staking out the estate.

As T.C. made a pass over the coordinates in question, the three men in the helicopter immediately noticed the large industrial structure. It was hard to miss, even with the way the trees were growing close to the building. A dirt road leading from a paved path scarred the jungle landscape, and several smaller buildings pockmarked the area around the warehouse. There were several vehicles visible as T.C. swooped in a little closer, although they all seemed to be parked and unoccupied.

"I can't land too close!" T.C. spoke into his microphone. "There's no open space besides the roof, and I'm pretty sure we don't want to announce our arrival like that."

Magnum felt his stomach churn as T.C. banked the chopper and pulled upward. He frowned and clenched his teeth as he willed himself not to vomit. Although he could normally handle a helicopter ride without losing his lunch, he'd had the unfortunate experience of flying with a concussion before, and it had never been pleasant. He swallowed; he needed to hold it together if he was going to be of any use once they landed.

"Hang on, Tommy. We're almost there," Rick's calm voice came through Magnum's headphones.

He managed a thumbs-up over his shoulder but barely had time to wonder how bad he looked that Rick had felt the need to speak up before he had to close his eyes as the nose of the chopper went up and down with no warning.

"Sorry!" T.C. apologized quickly. "Wind," he added in explanation, but Magnum didn't bother opening his eyes to glance over at his friend for any further details.

A moment later, there was the distinctive feeling of the helicopter descending that sent Magnum's stomach into his throat, and then a bump as the skids touched the ground. The engine cut off, and the sound of the rotors began winding down.

"Hey, we're here," T.C. announced. "You good?"

Magnum knew the question was directed at him, and he swallowed again before cracking an eye open. When the world didn't spin completely out of control, he opened the other and then took a steadying breath. "Yeah," he replied slowly, letting out another breath and then reaching for his seat belt. "Let's go."

They all scrambled out onto the grass, and Rick reached into the large black duffel bag he'd brought along. He handed a rifle to T.C., then one to Magnum, before pulling out one of his own and tucking the bag back inside the chopper.

"I thought these might come in handy," he said simply.

The others nodded their thanks and quickly checked over the weapons before slinging them over their shoulders and starting off in the direction of the building they'd seen from the sky. Magnum fell back to let T.C. lead the way; it wasn't so much that his sense of direction was out of whack—he was pretty sure he could get them where they needed to go without much trouble—but everything hurt and he knew they'd end up trudging slowly along if he was the one setting the pace. He would've let Rick go ahead of him too, but, when he looked at the other man, Rick shook his head.

"I'll bring up the rear, keep an eye out," he said, gesturing to where T.C. was already starting off.

Magnum raised an eyebrow but just nodded in agreement. He knew what Rick was doing, but they didn't have time to argue—and he wasn't sure he had the energy for it even if they did. The sooner they got to the building, the sooner they could check things out and see if Higgins was there.

Their trek was hurried and quiet, and they reached their target within minutes. Knowing Katsumoto had been tailing Iho, they were already on the lookout for his vehicle as they approached, and they spotted it parked a short way down the road. It was just barely in sight of the warehouse building, positioned so the detective could see the structure without giving away that he was staking it out.

Katsumoto was standing by his open trunk, donning a bulletproof vest, and he raised an eyebrow as Magnum, Rick, and T.C. approached.

"Anything?" Magnum asked, glancing around. He was breathing more heavily than he normally would have after the short hike, and he could feel the exertion pulling at his injuries. He put a hand to his side and tried to steady his breaths as the detective shook his head in response to the question.

"Not since they went inside a few minutes ago." Katsumoto had clearly noticed the guns the three men were toting, but he didn't comment on them.

"They? How many guys are we dealing with?" T.C. frowned.

"There were two guys in the car I followed." Katsumoto glanced at the building, then back at the others. "But I saw five others before they shut the door. I know what you're thinking," he added, taking in the weapons the others were holding, "but we need to wait for backup. We don't know how many others are inside; it could only be those seven, or it could be a lot more. I'm not going to risk all our lives because we went in with no support."

Magnum didn't even have to glance at Rick and T.C. to know they were thinking the same thing he was. "We're not waiting for backup," he told the detective firmly.

"You can't go in there," Katsumoto said sternly. "You"—he looked at Magnum—"shouldn't even be out of the hospital right now, much less out here. And you two"—he directed his next comment at T.C. and Rick—"aren't cops. You need to wait and let the authorities handle it."

"Yeah, sorry, buddy," Rick remarked, shaking his head. "But Higgins could be in trouble, and we're not waiting around."

Katsumoto sighed. "We don't even know for sure she's in there."

"Why else would Iho be visiting some random warehouse in the middle of nowhere?" Magnum asked. "And we already know his guys were here late last night  _ after  _ the attack at La Mariana. If she's not here, that's a really strange coincidence."

The look on Katsumoto's face said he was not happy with how things were going. "I see where you're coming from, but backup's en route. I can't let you go in like this. What if something happens?"

"And what if something happens while we're waiting around  _ because  _ we didn't go in?" T.C. wanted to know. "You can wait out here for your backup if you want, but we're going find Higgins."

The detective sighed again, much more heavily this time, and unholstered his sidearm. "Fine. But I'm coming too." He looked at Magnum. "I guess I can't convince you to stay out here," he remarked.

"Not a chance," Magnum replied, shaking his head. He wasn't sure he was doing his best at fully hiding how he felt, but staying behind was the last thing he was going to let happen.

"We already tried that," Rick offered.

Magnum rolled his eyes and shook his head. "We can discuss my health later. Come on." And with that, he started forward, hearing footfalls as the others kept pace.

They moved low and fast and were soon at the building's front door. T.C. reached for the handle and pulled it open, allowing the others to quickly duck inside, then followed and let the door swing shut behind him.

The building was one large warehouse, with metal shelves spaced throughout and piled with boxes. Pallets took up more of the available floor space, stacked with some sort of packages that were then covered in plastic wrap. None of the contents were clear, but none of the four men were interested in identifying the product at the moment; they were all searching the warehouse for any sign of Iho or his men.

At first, the place appeared empty, but then there was a noise from the far end of the warehouse. A door into what seemed to be some sort of office swung open, catching their attention, and they all swung toward it as a tall, stocky man stepped out.

He saw them a moment later, and his yell of warning was immediately followed by the sound of gunshots as he pulled a pistol from his waistband and raised it at the intruders.

Rick and T.C. pulled their triggers simultaneously, and the man dropped, but the sounds drew more men out of the office and several more came rushing down the metal staircase from the storage space on the second floor.

Shots rang out from both sides as everyone ducked behind the nearest shelter. Rick and Magnum crouched behind one pallet while T.C. was behind another and Katsumoto behind the crates stacked under one of the large shelving units. The other men at the far end of the warehouse did the same.

Magnum took a breath and then shifted to look around the side of his shelter. He quickly clocked the position of one of the shooters. The man was firing at their position in a way that appeared he wasn't particularly aiming, just pulling the trigger in the general direction of his targets, but the constant barrage of bullets meant there was only time for a cursory glance before Magnum had to pull back again. Taking another breath, he again leaned around the corner and took the shot. The kick from the rifle made the pain in his ribs flare again, but he just clenched his jaw and repeated the action.

As the man slumped over, his gun falling from his limp hand, Magnum quickly looked around again. The sound of gunshots was still echoing around him, reverberating off all the hard surfaces in the warehouse and building up to a crescendo in his already pounding head. But he just pushed everything to the back of his mind and forced himself to focus on what was going on in the moment.

There were a half dozen men still shooting at them, using various crates and boxes for cover at the other end of the warehouse. Even as Magnum glanced around, taking stock of the situation, he saw one of the other men drop, then another. He glanced over at where his friends were exchanging fire with the remaining gunmen and quickly made a decision.

"Cover me!" he yelled at Rick beside him, slinging the rifle behind him so it hung from his shoulder.

Rick's eyes widened slightly and he shook his head quickly. "Thomas, you can't—"

"Look," Magnum interrupted, pulling his pistol from his waistband and checking the chamber. "If they have Higgins here, she could be in danger. We don't know who else is in there with her and what'll happen when we start taking down the rest of these guys! I'm going in there!"

And then, not giving his friend time to argue any further, Magnum jumped up and ran for the wall to his right. He kept himself low, giving the criminals as small of a target as possible, and then crouched behind a stack of crates a moment later. When the sound of more gunshots filled the air, he rushed from his hiding place and toward the far end of the room.

He ducked as bullets whizzed past his head, scrambling for the closest cover to put a solid surface between him and the gunmen. He was breathing heavily, and the pain in his side was only growing with each inhale and exhale. Magnum pressed his free hand to his side and winced but only allowed himself a brief moment of rest before he started forward again.

There were more shots from the direction of his friends, although Magnum didn't dare risk looking back in their direction. But he saw another of the men firing at them fall backward, and he pushed himself harder, clenching his jaw in determination. He had a feeling Higgins was somewhere in the building, and he was determined to find her before the drug dealers decided to get rid of any loose ends.

He paused behind another stack of boxes just before he reached the far wall—and the door leading behind it—and took one last glance around. There were four remaining men who were all focused on Rick, T.C., and Katsumoto, and Magnum took advantage of that fact to quickly sneak around them and then rush to the door. He stayed low, hoping to avoid getting hit by friendly fire, while also keeping an eye on the gunmen in case any of them turned. None did, however, and he made it to the office door and slipped inside without being noticed.

"Well, Mr. Magnum."

The cold voice reached Magnum's ears before he'd had a chance to turn to take in the room, but he immediately knew who it was.

"I suppose if you're here, you must have found my money," Iho continued. He raised an eyebrow expectantly as Magnum faced him.

But Magnum was less focused on the drug dealer than he was on the figure in the chair in front of Iho—and that Iho currently had a pistol pointed at her head.

Higgins gave him a tiny smile of reassurance, although Magnum could see the concern in her eyes. He looked her over quickly, searching for any sign of how badly she was injured. There were bruises and dried blood on her face, but he couldn't see much else with the way she was bound to the chair with duct tape around her wrists and ankles. There were also bruises on her upper arms, which Magnum knew had to be from when Iho's goons had grabbed her.

Their eyes met then, and Magnum tilted his head in question. Higgins nodded slightly in response, but any further unspoken conversation was interrupted by Iho.

"Oh, and put the gun down," the drug dealer added. "I would hate for there to be a misunderstanding where I might have to fire in self-defense."

Magnum lowered his pistol slightly, but he didn't drop it completely. Not yet. "Why don't you put yours down too?" he asked with a pointed look. "We're both just here to get what we want—you, your money, and me, my partner. No one needs to get hurt."

"Exactly." Iho took a step closer to Higgins and pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of her head.

Higgins stiffened slightly, and Magnum quickly nodded as he met the other man's gaze.

"Right, okay," Magnum said calmly. He kept his eyes on Iho while slowly lifting his hands and then crouching to put his gun on the ground. He bit down on a groan of pain at the movement, and he knew he had been less successful at hiding the grimace that flashed across his face when he glanced from Iho to Higgins and saw her expression.

"The other one too," Iho added as Magnum stood up again. He nodded in approval as the P.I. unshouldered the weapon and set it down, then cleared his throat. "Now, where is my money? My terms were clear, and you were clearly smart enough to find this place so I'm sure you wouldn't be so stupid as to come here without the cash."

In the pause after Iho's statement, the silence from the warehouse was almost deafening. The gunshots had suddenly ceased, and Magnum clenched his jaw. He could only hope his friends were all okay. Regardless of who had won the gun battle, though, he knew he had mere moments to do something before the standoff was interrupted. If it was by Katsumoto, T.C., and Rick, there was a chance Iho would spook and shoot Higgins. If it was by Iho's guys… well, Magnum was partial to  _ not  _ dying just yet, which meant he needed to do something and fast.

Iho hadn't removed the gun from where he was holding it against Higgins' head, and Magnum knew he didn't have many options on what move he could make. There were only a handful of plans that  _ might _ work, and the surest option was still the stuff of White Knight novels. If they survived this, Magnum was definitely going to pitch the idea to Robin.

Magnum looked back at Higgins and caught her eye. They had been working together long enough that he hoped something in his gaze would communicate his plan—either that, or he hoped she'd catch on quickly. More than once since she'd started helping him with cases, one of them had taken action and the other had immediately followed their lead. Hopefully that would be the case again because Magnum knew he only had one chance to pull this off.

Taking a deep breath, he gave a small jerk of his head, taking a chance at not watching Iho to make sure Higgy understood his signal. He saw her clench her jaw in anticipation, then she threw herself forward and to the side hard enough to send the chair toppling to the ground. From the corner of his eye, as he threw himself to the floor, Magnum saw her brace for the landing and hoped she'd had time to pull in her shoulder before all of her weight had crashed down on it. He didn't have time for much more than that brief glance in his peripheral vision because he was scrambling to recover the pistol he'd set down moments before.

Magnum's hand had just closed around the grip of the gun when the shot rang out, and he heard Higgins cry out in pain. He quickly grabbed the pistol and flipped over onto his back, aiming for where Iho had been standing.

The drug dealer was standing over Higgins, his gun pointed her direction. From where he was lying on the ground, Magnum could see Iho's finger starting to tighten on the trigger again.

That was all Magnum needed to fire off his own shot, and he was rewarded by the sight of the drug dealer stumbling back a step. Two more rounds finished the job, and Iho slumped to the floor, his pistol falling beside him.

Magnum lay back, panting shallowly, his left hand coming up to press against his side and his right resting on the floor but still clenching the gun. Closing his eyes, he tried to even out his breathing. The adrenaline was still coursing through his system, and he was all too familiar with the crash that was going to follow. He also knew, from unfortunate experience, that he was going to feel every bump and bruise that he'd managed to sustain since the night before in agonizing detail before much longer.

"This isn't exactly the ideal time for a nap." Higgins' voice broke the silence then. She sounded pained but also highly annoyed.

Magnum cracked one eye open and lifted his head to peer over at his partner. "Just a minute," he said hoarsely, feeling the exhaustion starting to course through him the longer he stayed still.

"You got me  _ shot, _ Thomas!" Higgins exclaimed.

He blinked and looked back over at her. The fact that she was still tied to the chair registered with him, but he wasn't actually sure he could get back up off the floor even if he tried. So he settled for blinking at her blurry form and protesting. "Hey, you only got shot because you didn't throw yourself backward. I thought we were on the same page!"

Higgins huffed a sigh of frustration. "Because you told me to go forwards!"

"What?" Magnum's head had long since moved from minor pounding to absolutely pulsing, and the current argument was not helping. But he also was positive he  _ had  _ tipped his head backward. "Why would I want you to go forward? I wanted you to go  _ back _ so you would crash into Iho. I needed you to knock him off-balance so I could take him out!"

"No"—she arched an eyebrow—"you  _ nodded, _ or else I would never have thrown myself forwards like that."

The sound of a door creaking open interrupted their conversation. Magnum whirled to face whoever was coming in, pushing to a sitting position as he brought his gun to bear in the direction of the door.

He barely had time to be grateful it was his friends hurrying into the room before he had to lie back down and drape his arm over his eyes. Vertigo had hit him in full force at the quick change of altitude, and he found himself fighting the urge to be violently ill.

"Thomas, you good, buddy?" Rick's voice in his ear prompted Magnum to shift his arm slightly so he could look up at the other man.

He groaned and covered his eyes again. "Yeah, great," he mumbled.

"Gee, T.M., you couldn't untie Higgy while you were in here?" T.C.'s remark was immediately followed by the muted ripping sounds of duct tape being cut, and Magnum hid his sigh of relief with a frown.

"Hey, I'm dizzy!" he protested, not bothering to look this time. "But I appreciate your concern."

There was movement to Magnum's left, and Higgins snorted. "Is that why you can't tell the difference between a nod and tip?" she asked lightly, her voice now much closer than it had been.

Magnum risked moving his arm again to peer in her direction. She was watching him with worry behind her eyes, and he managed to crack a grin. "Just ask Rick," he commented as Rick moved over to the others as T.C. helped Higgins to a sitting position on the floor. "He keeps telling me how I should be in the hospital."

"Well, you should!" Rick exclaimed with a nod. He looked up from where he was examining Higgins' left arm, which was bleeding heavily enough that the side of her blouse was already soaking wet.

She caught Magnum watching and shook her head. "It looks worse than it is."

Frowning, Magnum started to object, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Katsumoto.

The detective took in the scene in front of him, his eyes traveling from Magnum lying on the floor to Higgins and then to Iho's crumpled form just beyond the toppled chair. He raised an eyebrow as he looked back to Rick and T.C., but it was clear he'd figured out the gist of what had happened. "I am going to need statements from all of you," he finally said with a resigned sigh.

_ "After  _ we get these two to a hospital," Rick replied firmly.

Katsumoto didn't argue. "Ambulance is just a few minutes out," he informed the others with a nod.

As the others continued conversing, Magnum could feel himself starting to fade out. They'd found Higgy, taken down Iho and his gang, and the adrenaline that had kept Magnum going throughout the day was long gone. He'd known he would crash eventually and had just hoped he'd be able to keep himself going long enough to rescue his friend. And now that he had…

The murmur of voices around him grew fainter and fainter, and he didn't even try to fight it as his eyes slowly drifted closed. In fact, he welcomed the darkness as it gently swirled around him. He knew the others would be there to fill him in later; at the moment, he would be grateful for even five minutes of shut-eye.

* * *

"So you see," Higgins shrugged as she concluded her story. She shifted against the pillows piled on the couch and gave the others a wry grin. "Nothing very interesting happened while Iho had me prisoner. You boys got to have all the fun."

Rick made a face. "Yeah, if you call keeping T.M. here from killing himself fun," he quipped.

"You would've done exactly the same thing," Magnum quickly shot back, shaking his head.

"And would you have called it fun if our places were reversed?" Rick retorted. He smirked at the look that crossed the other man's face. "Exactly."

Magnum rolled his eyes. "It's not like it was an ideal situation for me either, Orville."

Higgins chuckled as Rick sniffed in mock horror.

"Fine," Rick said with a shake of his head. "Next time, I'll just leave you to figure out how to get yourself all over Honolulu to fake out the bad guys while you're about to pass out from pain that you won't  _ take any meds for." _

"You know, I'd probably be more offended if you hadn't already drugged me." Magnum grinned lazily.

"Yeah, well," Rick defended himself, "you can't recover from everything you went through if the most you'll agree to swallow is a couple of extra-strength Tylenol."

After being kept at the hospital for observation the entire previous night, Magnum had finally been allowed to go home on the strict provision that he stay off his feet and rest for at least a week, pending further decision at his follow-up appointment the next week. Rick had stopped by the pharmacy and picked up Magnum's prescriptions while T.C. had driven their friend back to the estate that morning, and Rick hadn't allowed any room for arguing when he'd presented Magnum with the bottles of painkillers and antibiotics.

Higgins and Kumu had been waiting for them at the estate, and Kumu had been quite firm about the fact that neither patient was allowed to get up from the couches in the main house except for necessary trips to the bathroom. Rick and T.C. had immediately backed her, and, though he wasn't going to say it, Magnum wasn't exactly about to complain about the stipulations either. There wasn't much else he felt up to doing at the moment, and some time in front of the TV, watching movies he probably wouldn't remember half of afterward, sounded like the perfect way to spend the day.

But first, he'd wanted to know Higgins' side of the events of the past day. He hadn't had a chance to ask her much before. After the bullet wound in her arm had been treated, Higgins had been allowed to leave without having to stay overnight, but she'd been instructed to go home and rest and Magnum's doctor—the same one from his stay just the night before who was very unimpressed at his patient being back again so soon—had been insistent no visitors stay for very long. That meant, while he got plenty of rest, Magnum hadn't gotten the full story of what had happened.

"But," Rick chimed in then, picking the narrative up again, "it turns out Iho was using the warehouse where we found Jules as storage for drug shipments. That means Katsumoto's going to be able to make a solid case against the rest of the drug ring. Not to mention charges for kidnapping and false imprisonment—plus, Jules can identify the guys who took her, which means they also are going away for assault and battery and whatever other charges Katsumoto can make stick."

Magnum nodded slowly and settled back against the cushions. He wasn't necessarily going to say everything had been  _ worth it, _ exactly, at least not for the sake of catching a criminal. The most important thing was that they had found Higgins, and they  _ had  _ managed to take down a criminal enterprise in the end. Plus, the drug money was still safely locked away at HPD, where it would be used to convict Milo's former partner, so justice would still be served all around.

His musings ended when the smell of pizza wafted into the room, ahead of Kumu, who bustled in carrying several large cardboard boxes from a local pizzeria. T.C. was right behind her, hands full with several plastic bags the others could see were full of beverages.

"Who's hungry?" T.C. announced cheerfully.

Talk of the case and the consequences of the past day were forgotten as Rick objected to Higgins offering to get plates and ran to the kitchen before she could argue with him and Magnum started complaining that T.C. hadn't brought even one beer for him—even if he had no intention of actually drinking one while he was on the heavy pain meds the doctor had written up for him. They all fell into the easy conversation and laughter of family enjoying a night together and debating the choice of what movie to put on.

It was as perfect of an ending as could be possible to the events of the last couple of days, and, unlike their rather heated discussion over which action flick was most enjoyable, none of them could argue that. They were together, relatively in one piece, and that was really all any of them needed.


End file.
